Gigabit-LTE December 2022 Member Report
While the eyes of the press have been firmly on 5G, operators have been continuing to invest in their LTE networks, deploying technologies designed to improve the capabilities of their LTE networks and, in particular, to improve peak downlink throughput speeds. They have focused on three technologies from the LTE-Advanced toolkit: carrier aggregation, 4×4 MIMO and 256 QAM modulation in the downlink. If used together and with sufficient aggregated bandwidth, these can deliver maximum peak downlink speeds nearing, and even exceeding, 1 Gbps. Such networks are often described as gigabit LTE networks, mirroring a term also used in the fixed broadband industry.
Drawing on information collected by GSA on operator deployments of LTE-Advanced features for its comprehensive database about operator networks, technologies and spectrum, this report identifies operators investing at a technology level in gigabit LTE — defined as carrier aggregation plus 4×4 MIMO (or above) plus 256 QAM in the downlink. Note that this definition includes 4×4 MIMO and all higher-order MIMO technologies such as 8T8R MIMO and massive-MIMO.
- 336 operators have deployed or launched LTE-Advanced networks in 150 countries and territories
- 337 operators in 143 countries and territories are investing in at least one of the three key gigabit LTE component technologies
- 115 operators in 67 countries and territories are identified as investing in all three key gigabit LTE component technologies
- Of those, 74 operators in 42 countries and territories have deployed all three technologies
- 48 operators, or 13.7% of all the deployed or launched LTE-Advanced networks, can support user-equipment Cat-16 peak theoretical downstream speeds (at least 750 Mbps) or above
- 46 of those have announced gigabit (or very near at 998 Mbps) peak theoretical throughput, or better, in the downlink in their deployed or commercial networks
- Among those, seven can deliver peak maximum throughput of between 1.050 Gbps and 1.2 Gbps (Cat-18). Six have announced parts of their network can deliver a maximum rate in their commercial LTE networks of between 1.2 Gbps and 1.6 Gbps (Cat-19) and one has announced maximum peak downlink speeds in its LTE network of over just over 1.7 Gbps (Cat-20)
- 810 commercially available devices can support LTE speeds at Cat-16 or better
Gigabit-LTE December 2022 Member Report
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© GSA 2022
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